你好吗 works. Nobody actually says it though.

How to say “how are you” casually

你好吗 (nǐ hǎo ma) is one of the very first phrases every learner memorizes. It’s grammatically perfect, and every Chinese person will understand exactly what you mean.

It’s also almost never what people actually say to each other. Real “how are you” in Chinese doesn’t ask about your wellbeing directly at all — it asks about something specific instead.

Here’s what that actually sounds like.

Literally “have you eaten?” This is the classic — especially among older generations, neighbors, and family. It’s not really about food. It’s a stand-in for “how are you,” rooted in a culture where checking on someone meant checking whether they’d eaten. A simple 吃了 (“yeah, I ate”) is basically just “I’m good.”

Literally “where are you headed?” — said in passing, often without even stopping to wait for a detailed answer. This is closer to a friendly nod than a real question. A vague 随便走走 (“just walking around”) is a completely normal, honest-enough answer.

“What are you busy with?” A great one for people you know are generally busy — coworkers, classmates, friends mid-project. It assumes you’re doing something, which is a much more natural opener than asking a blank “how are you.”

“How have you been lately?” This is the one you use with someone you haven’t seen in a while — a real catch-up opener, far more natural than 你好吗 in that same moment.

Notice none of these actually ask “are you okay” the way English does. Chinese greetings point at something concrete — food, destination, work, time passed — and let that stand in for the whole question. That’s the real pattern worth learning, more than any single phrase.